The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

While Wu You was dealing with the third node, inside the Lanhe Investigation Bureau building.

Ye Yi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the decreasing number of black beams of light in various areas outside the window. His gaze lingered in one direction, and then he nodded unconsciously.

That was the fourth combat zone where Wu You was located.

Following his gaze, Hu Lie also saw it. He smiled, his voice filled with undisguised admiration: "Truly, the younger generation surpasses the older."

As soon as he finished speaking, his brows furrowed suddenly, as if he had sensed something. He shifted his gaze from the direction of the fourth combat zone to the distant sky outside the window.

"The main culprits have finally arrived," he said. "I'll go and meet them first."

Before he finished speaking, his figure had already disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, three black figures appeared without warning above the Bureau of Investigation building.

They wore large black cloaks that covered their entire bodies, leaving only their pale chins exposed.

The three stood in a triangle formation, suspended in mid-air, their cloaks fluttering in the wind like three giant bats.

Hu Lie appeared at the same time, standing in mid-air. He stood opposite the three figures, his burly figure like a small mountain. His black trench coat was blown by the wind and clung to his body, revealing the solid muscle lines beneath.

The two sides faced each other from a distance above the building, and the air became heavy.

Hu Lie looked at the three figures and spoke first: "Black cloaks? Priests from the Faceless Cult?"

The figure standing at the very front also spoke, his voice completely flat: "Hu Lie, eighth-tier limit, deputy commander of Xilin Province, I've heard of you."

Hu Lie had dealt with the Faceless Cult more than once, so it was normal for them to have their own intelligence. He grinned, revealing a mocking smile: "Grandpa is Hu Lie. And who are you rats?"

"A poor attempt at reverse psychology."

"Heh." Hu Lie chuckled, his voice full of contempt. "Don't you Thousand-Faced Corpse Clan love to wear human skin and imitate humans? In my opinion, a bastard is a bastard. You want to learn how to be human?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then the voice rang out again, still completely flat: "I hope you'll still be this energetic later."

"Heh, I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you." Hu Lie cracked his neck, making a snapping sound. "Now, look me straight in the eye, you little brat!"

The pre-battle trash talk segment is over.

His figure appeared instantly in front of the leader in the black cloak, his right fist already thrown out.

That punch had no fancy special effects; it was just a simple punch. But wherever the punch passed, the air was compressed into a visible white wave of air, producing a sharp, explosive sound.

Hu Lie's ability is simply this: he can send bricks flying with sheer force. With a single punch, everything shatters.

The leader in the black cloak quickly turned slightly to the side, barely dodging the punch.

A gust of wind blew past its cloak, opening the hood to reveal a pale but unremarkable face.

The other two black-cloaked figures reacted immediately, launching attacks on Hu Lie from the left and right. Black mist surged from under their cloaks, transforming into countless tiny tentacles that coiled around Hu Lie from all directions.

Hu Lie did not retreat.

He swung his left fist, the force of which shattered all the black tentacles on his left side; with a thrust of his right elbow, the black cloak on his right side clearly dared not take the blow head-on and was forced to dodge.

With high damage from both his left and right punches, Hu Lie, at the peak of his eighth-tier strength, was clearly far superior to his opponents, holding his own against three opponents.

The four figures immediately engaged in a fierce battle, their fists swirling with the black mist, creating a tense and evenly matched contest.

Meanwhile, at the third node of the fourth combat zone.

The battle between Wu You and the Black-Skirt Corpse has reached a fever pitch.

Things are different now; he is no longer the Wu You whose chest was casually ripped open by the other party.

With his sixth-tier strength, perfected Phantom Cloud Sword Technique, and beginner-level Star Pivot Seven Luminaries Sword Technique, all of these combined allowed him to completely overwhelm this royal corpse that had once instantly killed him.

With each swing of the sword, the gray and pale silver sword light left lingering trails in the air, forcing the figure in the black dress to retreat continuously.

However, the opponent has a very troublesome ability: to move through the shadows.

It can move in and out of any shadow, like a slippery loach. Wu You's sword was about to hit it, but it shrank and merged into the shadow of the ground, and then emerged from the shadow of the wall next to it the next second.

This is why Wu You has been fighting it for so long. If he could hit it head-on, he was confident that he could finish it off in a few sword strikes. But the problem is, he couldn't hit it.

Wu You took a deep breath, and his sword stance changed.

Tianxuan Binding Star Sword

Starlight surged from the sword, transforming into several silver-white chains that crisscrossed and swirled in the air, wrapping around the black-skirted corpse.

Just now, the black-skirted corpse had already suffered from the Heavenly Pivot Binding Star Sword, but it cut off a third of its own body, freeing itself from the Heavenly Pivot Binding Star Sword's restraints and dodging Wu You's fatal blow.

So this time, the black-dressed corpse didn't hesitate at all. The moment it saw the chains, it shrank back and disappeared into the shadows. The chains missed their target, leaving only a few faint traces of starlight in the air.

Wu You frowned.

The binding of the Tianxuan Binding Star Sword requires a clear target, and the condensation of the starlight chains takes a little time—although very short, enough for this slippery royal corpse to hide in the shadows.

Except for the first time, every time he had just condensed the chains, the other party had already disappeared, giving him no chance to bind them.

Then let's try a different approach.

Wu You shifted his sword, no longer pursuing the black-skirted corpse, but instead charged towards the black pillar of light. He raised his four-colored crystal longsword high, pale silver starlight condensing on its blade, and slashed down.

The black-clad zombie emerged from the shadows and stood in front of the beam of light.

It raised its arm, and black mist condensed on it to form a shield, which forcefully blocked the sword strike.

Then it retreated back into the shadows.

Wu You sneered.

He charged at the pillar of light again, swung his sword again, and the black-skirted corpse reappeared, blocked it again, and retreated back into the shadows.

This process repeated itself; every time Wu You attacked a node, it had to appear to block him, but after each block, it would immediately retreat, not giving Wu You a chance to restrain it.

Wu You knew that this couldn't go on. The longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for the overall battle. He had to come up with a way to lure it in.

He stopped attacking, stood in front of the pillar of light, and seemed to be thinking about something.

Then he moved—but not to attack the black-dressed corpse, but to raise his sword again and slash down at the pillar of light with all his might.

This time he held nothing back; the pale silver sword light was brighter than ever before, and the blade fell with a sharp whistling sound.

He didn't even pay attention to the possible sneak attack from the shadows behind him, as if he had completely given up on defense and focused all his attention on destroying the node.

This is a flaw, a huge flaw.

The black-clad zombie emerged from the shadows.

It did not attack Wu You—it knew that an attack might be too late, as Wu You's sword was already about to strike the node.

Its goal is to block that sword strike, just like before, and then dodge.

But this time is different.

Wu You's lips curled up slightly.

The moment the black-clad corpse appeared, the sword in his hand suddenly changed direction.

The grand and imposing Tian Shu Po Jun Sword suddenly transformed into the dense and restrictive Tian Xuan Fu Xing Sword—the sword moves changed seamlessly, flowing like clouds and water, as if they had been aimed at it from the very beginning.

The black-clad zombie's pure black pupils contracted slightly.

It discovered something was wrong.

But it was too late.

The Starshine Chains had already taken shape around it—this time, Wu You didn't start condensing the chains after it appeared, but rather completed the pre-cast animation before it even appeared!

The gesture of slashing at the pillar of light was merely a cover for the truth that the chains were already poised to strike.

Silver chains tightened from all directions, wrapping around the wrists, ankles, and waist of the black-dressed corpse. The moment the starlight touched its body, it sizzled, like a branding iron hitting ice water.

It struggled to blend into the shadows, but the starlight on the chains acted as an invisible barrier, severing its connection with the shadows completely.

It's trapped!

Wu You didn't give it any time to react.

Tian Shu Po Jun Sword!

A faint silver starlight shone on the sword. The starlight was not dazzling, but it exuded a chilling aura that made one's heart tremble.

The next instant, the sword light streaked across like a meteor, piercing straight through the head of the black-clad corpse.

Its body froze.

For the first time, a feeling akin to "fear" appeared in those pure black eyes. It was no longer the expressionless indifference of before, but a genuine, instinctive fear in the face of death.

Then, its body began to disintegrate, starting from its head, like a sand sculpture being blown away by the wind, turning into wisps of black dust. The dust twisted a few times in the air before completely dissipating, leaving nothing behind.

Experience points +5000!

At the same time, the energy level of Wan Jian Gui Cang jumped suddenly—from 75% to 225%!

Wu You sheathed his sword and stood there, catching his breath.

The grudge from that time has finally been settled!

Meanwhile, above the Bureau of Investigation building.

Hu Lie and the three black-cloaked corpses were still fighting. The wind from their fists and the black mist intertwined, and the air waves collided with their tentacles. The four figures kept changing positions in the air, and their speed was so fast that it was impossible for the naked eye to catch them.

The two sides were deadlocked for a time, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Hu Lie took a half step back, his gaze quickly sweeping over the sky above Lanhe City.

There were very few black beams of light left: the node beams of light in the five combat zones were being cleared quickly, the fourth zone where Wu You was located was completely cleared, and the other zones were also nearing completion.

But Hu Lie knew in his heart that a protective force field that could encompass the entire city would consume a huge amount of resources, and every minute and every second would consume a large amount of resources.

He silently calculated the time, his eyes narrowing slightly: He had to hurry and destroy the ritual node; time was running out!

Only by destroying all ritual nodes can the Dark Domain's erosion of the entire Lan River be completely stopped, and the Dark Domain's aura that can corrupt ordinary people be completely dissipated.

His gaze was caught by the leader in the black cloak.

The corpse chuckled, its voice remaining completely flat: "No need to look. Even if all those nodes are destroyed, the ritual won't stop."

Hu Lie frowned and looked at the other person.

A pure black six-pointed star pattern slowly emerged from the black cloak's body, taking root on its skin like a tattoo, emitting an eerie black light. The pattern was more complex than any other node on the ground of Lanhe City, with dense lines, each one writhing as if it were alive.

"Because, the core node—" it stretched out a pale finger and pointed to its chest, "is on me."

Hu Lie's pupils suddenly contracted.

Without any hesitation, he immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Chief!"

The sound pierced through the clouds and echoed throughout the entire Bureau of Investigation building.

Inside the building, Ye Yi was stunned for a moment when she heard the shout.

Director?

He glanced around instinctively: "Is someone calling me?"

After all, he's the only one in the bureau who can be called the director, even though he's the deputy director.

The next moment, Ye Yi immediately understood who Hu Lie was calling for.

A middle-aged man wearing a black trench coat and a small golden torch on his left chest flew up from the top floor of the building and stood next to Hu Lie in the blink of an eye.

He had a thin face and slightly graying temples, but his eyes were incredibly sharp.

Ye Yi was stunned when she saw this figure.

"Chief..." he murmured, "Weren't you injured after your failed breakthrough...?"

It was Lin Zhili, the former director of the Lanhe City Investigation Bureau and the torchbearer of the Golden Emblem!

Seeing the figure walking on air, Ye Yi immediately realized that the news that Director Lin Zhili had failed to break through and was seriously injured was false!

Moreover, considering that it was Director Lin Zhili who first discovered the Desire Corpse Seed in Lanhe City, Ye Yi instantly understood many things.

He smiled, his previously serious expression easing slightly: "You old Hu, you've kept this from me for so long."